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Sunday, September 9, 2012

NashVegas 70.3 Race Report...New PR!!!!

I spent my birthday driving to Nashville with my bride worrying about the weather. The forecast was calling for thunderstorms all morning on race day and highs in the low 70s. So as we drove in 90 degree weather, I was not looking forward to racing in the rain...again. Last year at Ironman Branson 70.3 is was a monsoon, so while I knew I could do it, I wasn't looking forward to the rain.

RACE DAY:

I had my alarm set to go off at 4:30 AM, which would give me plenty of time to eat something, and get everything ready. I wanted to be at the race site by 6AM for the 7AM start, which we made very easily. I was able to rack my bike in the first rack and get everything setup like I wanted it. i also remember to bring a plastic bag to wrap my socks and shoes in since the forecast was calling for rain. They stated the water temp was 84 degrees, which was surprising since it did rain all night, so that meant no wetsuit. I always feel more confident with my wetsuit on, but I really wasn't to nervous about not wearing it. All I had left to do was get body-marked, spend some time talking with my wife and friends and then get a little swim in before the siren started!

SWIM: 37:15

The swim started as a wade in the water wave start. I was in the second wave, basically the over 40 age group. We had about a 150 yard swim the the first buoy, a right turn, then about a 1000 yd swim, a right turn, another 150 yards, then a right turn back to the exit. The first two buoys were rough. People were bumping me a lot, it had to them because I swim in a straight line. It wasn't until that last buoy that I actually felt like I had room to swim. Once I saw the swim exit, I was actually surprised it was over. My swim time was 37.15, which broke down to a 1:46/100 yds!

T1: 1:26

T1 went fine, not a whole lot to talk about here. It had not started raining yet and with no wetsuit to get off, it was basically just a matter of putting on gloves and shoes and going!

BIKE: 3:08:27

I had not gone 6 miles before it started raining and then it started raining harder and harder. The wind really picked up also, which at times made it a little scary. The course itself was pretty good, it had some challenging hills to it, but a lot of rollers.My bike computer quit working around mile 15, so I had to wait to hit the mile markers to tell where I was on the course. I made sure to hit all my nutrition on the bike, which included salt pills, 2 bottles of GU Brew, 3 gels, energy shot blocks and 2 bite size Snickers (which was like manna from Heaven). I wanted to have fuel for the run, I left nothing in the bento box. I do not enjoy riding in the rain and wind. This weather system made me hold back on some of the downhills because the wet roads and winds scared me some. There were parts of the course where I could see no one in front of me and no one behind me, which was weird. I mean the course was well marked, with signs and law enforcement, but there were still times when it got lonely out there. The rain finally stopped with about 25 minutes left on the ride. I was ready to get off the bike, and I was so looking forward to having dry socks and shoes on my cold wet feet.

T2: 2:07

The only thing that took time in T2 was getting my socks and shoes out of the bag I brought, and I gladly gave up those extra few seconds to have on dry shoes. This is a lesson I learned last year, and it made a huge difference. it felt so good putting on something dry.

RUN: 2:20:00

Awesome run course to run!!

I felt surprisingly well off the bike and starting the run. Really surprised!! I actually felt good! The run was about a mile of road, then it turned into a Greenline run. I had a great pick me up moment, when I spotted my wife about a mile into the run, I was wondering where she was when I came into T2, so it was a nice surprise to see her and to stop and get a quick kiss. I knew at this point I had a chance to go under 6 hours, I just needed to average under 10 minute miles, which was doable...for the first 9 miles. I was actually on pace, and this is with me walking through the water stations long enough to drink the water. Some stops had Coke, that sweet elixir of the Gods! It was good! At mile 9, things starting getting really tough on me. I resorted to a run a mile, walk a minute. The legs were hurting. At one point, I decided I was going to run to mile 11 and then walk some, but my wife was at mile 11 taking pictures! And I can;t walk with my wife standing there!!! So I shuffled through 11, walked ran through 12 and started cramping at 13. Right where everyone was! But I did make it.

Wanna know something interesting? I ran a half marathon in March with a time of 2:07, I ran a half marathon after a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile ride in 2:20!! Who has been working on his run???

It was sweet crossing the finish line. 6:09:15. A new PR! 16th in my AG! My last attempt at a 70.3 was 7:35, so I was thrilled with knocking off that amount of time.

Way to power through crappy conditions (once again) and ROCK that race! Wahoo for not just trimming down the time for a new PR, but whacking a huge chunk of time right off!! Love the line about not walking in front of your wife. Happy birthday! I don't think you could have given yourself a better present. :)